Yemeni al-Qaida beheads three men for spying on operations

SANAA - Al-Qaida militants have beheaded three Yemeni men in the provincial city of Maarib after accusing them of spying on their operations, a tribal source close to Islamist militants said on Tuesday.

The headless bodies of three men who formerly cooperated with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) were found at dawn dumped in the streets of the provincial capital east of Sanaa, the source said. He described the executions as a message to tribes not to work against al-Qaida.

The men had been accused of planting tracking devices and providing Yemeni and US intelligence with information which led to the killing of several al-Qaida members.